Dell XPS 13 (2015)

Has Windows finally got its MacBook Air killer?

The second laptop we're reviewing this month isn't quite as revolutionary as the Toshiba unit at left, but it's arguably a better-focused product that knows what it wants to do — and aims to do it well.

Dell's new XPS 13 ultrabook has been widely described as a 'MacBook Air killer' in overseas media, but it's actually different enough from Apple's design to have its own sort of appeal. It’s both smaller and lighter than the Air, for starters, with the narrow bezel around the top and sides of the screen (just a few mm wide) helping shave down its overall footprint and weight, which is a tiny 1.18kg. Combined with an amply-sized trackpad, solid keyboard (with nice firm and tall keys) and a richly coloured, clean and sharp 13.3-inch display (even on the 1080p entry-level model we tested), this is an attractive little tool.

And it's an efficient one, with battery life ranging from 5:41hr to 6:36hr in our pair of tough battery tests. In this 13-inch ultrabook form, we've only seen better from the MacBook Air itself — which stretch another half an hour in the latter test to 7:09hr. Regardless, under light to moderate workloads the XPS 13 should definitely last an 8-hour working day with battery to spare.

There are some nice little touches to the device too, like the row of five LED lights on the side that, at the tap of the small button next to them, will illuminate to show you roughly how much battery life you have left.

As the photos kind of give away, the XPS 13's chassis isn’t entirely constructed of metal; with only the top and bottom being machined aluminium. Inside is a soft-touch black carbon fibre material that's arguably more comfortable than metal to rest your palms on. Whatever the case, this is still a very tough little machine that should be able to take some punishment.

Are there things we don’t like about the XPS 13? Certainly — but they're all fairly minor. For example, coming directly from a MacBook Air, the Dell's 16:9 screen aspect ratio isn't quite as friendly as the Air's 16:10, which gives the latter a bit more vertical space. There's also the usual ultrabook drawback of limited ports: there's only two USBs (both 3.0), DisplayPort out, SD card and a 3.5mm headset socket.

Perhaps the most vexing element of the design is the odd placement of the webcam - it's under the bottom left corner of the display. It can make centring your face for chats a little bit tricky. It's something you're reminded of every time you open the laptop, as by default it'll use 'face unlock' software to verify your identity and unlock your account.

In all then, there's not much worth griping about. In fact, the main question mark we have over the XPS 13 has to do with value. The equivalent 13-inch MacBook Air (with 128GB SSD and 4GB RAM) is a good $300 cheaper at $1,199 — and though the MacBook has a lower-res screen (1,440 x 900 compared to 1,920 x 1,080) it also has that full aluminium chassis making it look and feel a little more premium compared to the Dell's mixed metal and carbon fibre. This isn't out-and-out an Air killer then. That doesn’t, however, stop it from being most-appealing Windows alternative we've ever seen. Dan Gardiner

Different enough that it's hard to call this an Air killer, but one of the best compact Windows PCs regardless.